She was fired for acknowledging trans people exist. Now she's fighting back.https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/02/she-was-fired-for-acknowledging-trans-people-exist-now-shes-fighting-back/ 🔗Daniel Villarreal (4 Feb 2026)
Melissa McCoul, the now-former Texas A&M University lecturer who was fired for teaching that transgender people exist, filed a federal lawsuit against the university on Tuesday. McCoul alleges that university administrators violated her free speech and due process rights just to appease transphobic politicians after a student recorded her classroom disagreement with the lecturer.
McCoul's lawsuit accuses the chief of staff of Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) of pressuring the university's now-resigned President Mark A. Welsh III to fire her. It also accuses A&M's supervisors of telling university Provost Alan Sams not to give her a required disciplinary hearing before her termination.
"There's no satisfaction in doing this, only sadness," she said, according to The Texas Tribune. "I had hoped to keep doing that work for many years to come. Despite how I was treated, I still love the institution, my former colleagues, and the students of A&M. I hope that this lawsuit will cause the University to think twice about treating others similarly."
McCaul says she was fired even though she didn't violate any law or university policy. "Instead, [McCaul was] terminated for exercising her academic freedom guaranteed under the First Amendment," her lawsuit states. McCaul seeks reinstatement to her position, punitive damages, back pay, and other restitution.
